A Love Letter I Didn’t Expect

May 16, 2013 By Jon Goldman

Everyone wants to create “touch points,” a favorite buzzword for marketers. A touch point is that intersection between your business and your customer, where you interact and communicate something — hopefully, something of value.

Touch points have to offer value, have emotional power and provide a tactile experience of the five senses: sight, sound, scent, taste and touch.

I want to introduce you to touches, love letters to your customers wrapped up in sensory stimuli.
I recently ordered a new headset from headsets.com. The package arr-ived right on time. I expected to see my headset and an invoice. Instead, as I opened up the package, all kinds of treats rolled out onto my desk. How many “touches” were in this package? The answer is eight.

1. Testimonial card, to build trust.

2. Brochure, to cross-sell existing customers.

3. Warranty card, to reduce the risk; it reinforces the decision to buy and helps overcome buyer’s remorse.

4. Thank-you notecard, to show appreciation for the purchase.

5. Ambassador package, two referral cards to stimulate referrals; this provides directions and the tools to make it easy for your customers to refer you.

6. “We Love Our Customers” sticker, to show the love and appreciation.

7. Personal packing sticker, to shift from an interaction with a nameless corporate employee to a real person (“Oh, it was packed by Matthew”).

8. An invoice, to show transparency.
Then, a handful of Tootsie Rolls spilled out onto my desk. What a wow! Headsets.com showed me the love. What a welcoming experience. It was entirely unexpected, and if it was designed to make me feel good, it worked.

In the moment it took to open the package — just one touch — headsets.com won me over with all the special touches added to the presentation. Sight. Scent (Tootsie Rolls smell like chocolate vanilla). Taste. Touch. The company only missed sound. Compare this to the boredom of an invoice.

I’m a convert and will refer businesses to headsets.com because the company made me feel special.

Is there a Tootsie in your touch? If not, here are some other ways to show the love. Take your pick:

1. Append short surveys to receipts. Make a small donation to a charity for every survey completed.

2. Reward customers with a coupon or small gift to help them remember and love your brand.

3. Use information and offer a free white paper, guide or report to say thanks for a newsletter sign-up.

4. Hold a customer appreciation event at your store, office or hospitality venue; give a free seminar; hold an early-bird sale; or host a get-together with a guest speaker.

5. Send your customer a book you’ve read with a meaningful inscription.

10. Remember to occasionally ask, “How are you — really?” Then actively listen for as long as your clients want to speak. Respond when and if appropriate.

As you can see, “touches” can cost little or nothing. But they get your customer emotionally involved in your brand. Touch someone’s heart today.Jon Goldman is president of Brand Launcher and a board member of Jewish Entrepreneurial Trust (JET). To learn more about JET or to get involved, contact info@jetbaltimore.org.